Later this week, le quatorze juillet (July 14), is la fête nationale française, known in many parts of the world as Bastille Day.

If you are like many francophiles, you may think this day celebrates the storming of the royal prison of la Bastille on July 14, 1789, and you’d be right, but only partly so...

Officially established as la fête nationale (the national holiday) by the French Assemblé in 1880, the festivities do indeed celebrate the storming of the Bastille as the start of the revolution, but perhaps more importantly the 14th is also the anniversary of la Fête de la Fédération (a celebration of the ideals of the French Revolution – la liberté, la fraternité, et l’égalité / liberty, brotherhood, and equality – and of the nation) during which Louis XVI himself (before, of course, famously losing his head later!) and other representatives of the young republic swore an oath to the constitution, promising to uphold the laws of the new nation.

The ceremonies of this first Fête de la Fédération were led by the Marquis de LaFayette (whom Louis XVI had named as commander of the troops in Paris after his return from supporting the American colonists in their recent bids to win independence from the other great European monarchy of the day, Great Britain) and took place on the Champs de mars  (named, not for the month of March, but for the Roman god of battle, Mars [Greek: Ares or Aries]) which is framed today by the Eiffel Tower at one end and Hôtel des Invalides at the other.

As today, the early celebrations of the 14th July involved local dances and military parades. In 1989, year of the bicentennial celebrations, I was lucky enough to spend juillet in Paris and to participate in three days of bals, defilies, feux d’artifices, and more (balls, parades, fireworks).

La nuit du 14 (the night of the 14th), we even went out to a night club after the final fireworks, danced till dawn, and then went back to the Champs-Élysées for le petit-déjeuner au levé du soleil! (breakfast at sunrise).

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

May Day / La Fête du Muguet in France is a public holiday / a jour fériés to celebrate workers rights! in the UK we tend to move public holiday days to the Monday but as with most jour fériés in France they stay on the day the occur. It is also an occasion to present Muguet / Lily of the Valley or dog rose flowers to loved ones, friends and neighbours. The day is also known as La Fête du Travail which never seems to happen in the Cle France Office!

So what do people do?

People in many areas give bouquets of Muguet / Lily of the Valley or dog rose flowers, I knew a friend who would cycle around the village and surrounding villages, in a rural corner of Mayenne, giving out single stem of Muguet to all her friends and take all day doing it!

The custom is particularly common in the area around Paris known as Ile-de-France. Families with children in the rural areas get up very early in the morning and go into the woods to pick Muguet. Individuals and flower stalls in urban areas sell bouquets of Muguet / Lily of the Valley on May 1st if you don't want to go and pick some yourself. There are special regulations that allow people and some companies to sell these flowers on May 1st without paying tax or complying with retail regulations, kerching!

In industrial towns some trade unions use the day to campaign for workers rights. Some people or even large organisations also use the day to campaign for human rights in general or to demonstrate against racism or highlight current social issues. 

Jour fériés:

May 1st is a public holiday. Post offices, banks, stores and other businesses are closed, Cle France remains open in the UK. Outside of tourist areas, restaurants and cafes may be closed. However, some stores in Paris, and other major towns and cities will be open. Public transport service schedules vary depending on where you live and where you want to go to. Parades and demonstrations may cause disruption to traffic in the center of large cities, particularly Paris, Reims, Rennes and Rouen. 

Now for the History Lesson:

King Charles IX of France was presented with Muguet / Lily of the Valley flowers on May 1st 1561. He liked the gift and decided to present Muguet / Lily of the Valley flowers to the ladies of his court each year on May 1st. Around 1900, men started to present a bouquet of flowers to women to express their affection. The flowers are a more general token of appreciation between close friends and family members these days and has not bee turned into a second Valentines day.

The eight-hour working day was officially introduced in France on April 23, 1919, and May 1st became a public holiday. May Day was not observed during World War II. However, May 1st became a public holiday again in 1947 and officially became known as La Fête du Travail (Labor Day) on April 29, 1948. Since then, it has been an occasion to campaign for and celebrate workers' rights.

We know it as just goof old fashioned May Day but, of course, it is also known as Labor Day in other parts of the world.

Symbols:

Muguet / Lily of the Valley and dog rose flowers are symbols of May Day in France.

The Romance: 

Ever since its introduction from Japan to Europe in the Middle Ages (bet you did not know that!) Muguet / Lily of the Valley has been regarded as a lucky charm by the Celtic folks from many countries.

There was also an old European tradition of 'bals de muguet' or Muguet dances; once a year, this was a rare occasion for young singles to meet without having to get parents’ permission. The girls would dress in white and the boys would wear a sprig of muguet as a buttonhole, how very quaint.

From around 1900, it became traditional in France for men to present a bouquet of flowers to their sweethearts to express their love and affection. Nowadays, sadly of course, the romance has drifted out of the tradition and 'Muguet ' flowers are really only given as a general token of appreciation between close friends and family members.

Blog submitted by: Sharon at The French Property Network - Cle France.

French Culture – New Year’s Traditions

On this deuxième jour de janvier (second day of January), I’d like to start off by wishing everyone une très bonne année! (a very Happy New Year!) New Year’s provides the French with not one, but two more chances to do what they do best . . . celebrate!

Like most festive French holidays, New Year’s (both le Réveillon et le jour de l’An / New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day) feature great food and, of course, Champagne!* Many French New Year’s feasts also feature a (or many!) big platter(s) of freshly shucked huîtres (oysters). Shipped fresh from the ports of la Bretagne (Brittany), les huîtres are a favourite of the French for the holidays

Les mois sans ‘r’

While oysters are now consumed year-round, historically eating oysters (and other seafood) in the warmer months could be dangerous for those living far from the shore (no refrigeration meant that delicate seafood could easily spoil in transport). Oysters also reproduce when the water around them gets warm (generally in mid-spring and summer months of mai, juin, juillet, et août / May, June, July, and August) and some find that oysters are not as good at this this time. These two facts resulted in a common French tradition of avoiding oysters in les mois sans ‘r’/months without an ‘r’!

Le saviez-vous? / Did you know?

Le jour de l’An (New Years Day) was not always January 1st. For centuries, the start of the year varied from country to country and even sometimes by region. In parts of France the new year once started on April 1 (and some say that the tradition of le poisson d’avril dates from this period). It wasn’t until the late 16th century, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar we know today, that January 1 was officially established as the start of the new year (at least throughout the Christian world).

* While most wine-producing countries have some form of vin mousseux/sparkling wine (Prosecco from Italy, Cava from Spain; even France has vin mousseux produced in regions outside Champagne ), Champagne is only Champagne if it is produced in the French region of the same name.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

French Question: Why is it “Le Novel An” and not “Le Nouveau An”?

We wish all of our subscribers a happy and healthy 2024.

Talking about the new year in French can be especially difficult. This is because there are two words that mean “year”–an (m) and année (f), and because both of these words start with a vowel, which can change the word that comes before it.

What’s the difference between an and année? Besides the fact that an is masculine and année is feminine, an describes a particular moment during the year while année describes a span of time (this is similar to the pairs soir and soirée).

Thus, you would say: C’est le jour du nouvel an (It’s New Year’s Day) using an instead of année because you are referencing a particular moment of time during the year (New Year’s Day).

If, however, you would like to wish someone a happy new year, this is over a span of time, which lasts for the entire year. That’s why you use année in the expression “Happy New Year” or bonne année.

But there’s another trick when referencing the new year, or le nouvel an, in French. Because an is masculine, the adjective typically used with it should be nouveau. However, in French, an adjective cannot end with a vowel if the following noun also begins with a vowel (for reason of pronunciation or liaison).

Thus, there is always a masculine form of a word that can be used only in front of masculine nouns that start with vowels. In this case, that would be nouvel. Nouvel is pronounced just like the feminine form nouvelle, so don’t get confused if you hear someone say le nouvel an–this doesn’t mean that an is feminine. (You can also think about the difference between the demonstrative adjectives ce (masculine), cette (feminine), and cet (masculine before a masculine noun that begins with a vowel).

Alors, je vous souhaite tous une bonne année et j’espère que vous avez passé un bon nouvel an avec votre famille!

Bonne année! Happy New Year!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

As New Year's Eve is fast approaching we thought we should take a look at how it is celebrated in France and see if we can point out some differences to where you live?

December 31st - New Year's Eve is called la Saint-Sylvestre and is celebrated with a feast by most people, called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre unsurprisingly (31 December is his saint's day). The feast includes special items like champagne and perhaps controvertially foie gras, the accompanying party can range from an intimate dinner with friends to lavish public events most often called une soirée dansante (a dance ball).

Kissing under the mistletoe

At midnight, everyone kisses under the mistletoe and offers their best wishes for the new year. Kissing under the mistletoe? I hear you ask? well, interestingly, kissing under the mistletoe is a New Year's Eve / Day custom in France rather than a Christmas custom as in the UK and other countries. Note that the kissing may be on the lips or on the cheek, depending on the relationship between the two people so if you are not sure then start with the cheek and the French person will take the lead from there!

The end of the holiday season is Epiphany, on 6 January, although I have seen Christmas decoratyion still 'up' and illuminated at night almost as long as up to Easter!, Epiphany in France includes a traditional cake called la galette des rois but if you bite into one becareful as you may break a tooth on the cadeaux often found inside these cakes, but don't worry it means good luck!

Saint Sylvestre was Pope from 314 to 335 A.D., during the time of the rule of Constantine the Great. Although there is no actual link between Saint Sylvestre and the new year, it just that 31 December is his feast or Saint's day. La Saint-Sylvestre is feminine because it's short for la fête de Saint-Sylvestre.

New Year’s Traditions in France

Celebrating the New Year is a little different in France than it is in the UK or the US.

Cards.

I hope you were not offended if you got less Christmas cards this year, if it was your first year in france? the French people don’t send Christmas cards! they send New Year’s greeting cards instead, so they is hope yet. So if you are sending cards to people in France, you don’t have to rush, just catch the post for the week inbetween Chritmas and New Year.

People in France continue to wish each other la bonne année throughout the month of January! No interaction is complete in France in the month of January without starting your conversation with Meilleurs voeux (Best wishes).

Etrennes.

It is also common practice in France to give gifts of money to people who serve you on a regular basis, any tips to Cle France staff will be accepted merrily (LOL). The local firemen are the most proactive in my experience and they will knock on your door with the 'excuse' of selling you a calendar, even the garbage man in towns and cities (les éboueurs) may knock on your door. It’s the equivalent of their 13th month, and the French tend to be quite generous so if you want a good service you may have to dig deep.

Le Réveillon.

As you know by now the Christmas Eve dinner is known as le réveillon and so is New Year’s Eve dinner! so easy to remeber even after a galss or two! To distinguish the two, the celebration on the 31st is called la Saint-Sylvestre, or le réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre. The festive meal is similar to the one shared at Christmas – goose or turkey, oysters, foie gras, Boudin blanc – with the addition of copious amounts of champagne, bien sûr, and dancing and partying long into the night is normal and to be expected.

Metros and public transportation in the large cities are free for the evening to discourage drivers from taking to the road in their cars after indulging which is a very effective policy.

Midnight.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, expect to receive kisses on both cheeks and a hearty bonne année! Fireworks at private parties have been surpressed in the past years due to the dangers, but this is not the case for the local communes who often have a spectacular display and a party for all the villagers.

On New Year’s Day – le jour de l’an.

Parades fill the streets which you can watch in person, if you don’t mind the cold, or on TV from the comfort of your own home, friends house and even in the local sports bar, in fact anywhere where there is a TV it will be tuned to the local 'big town' celebrations!

The most famous New Year parade takes place in Paris every year. Thousands of performers from all over the world take part in the show with wonderful songs, dances and other cultural activities. The parade goes through the many districts and streets of Paris. Generally, it starts on 31st December and passes through Chantilly to reach Trocardero, under the Eiffer Tower on January 1st.

What about New Years Resolutions?

Le Jour de l'An is the day when people share their resolutions among near and dear friends, you may not get such a warm reply if you ask a neighbour what their resolution is, these are really kept between very close family members. Cards and gifts are exchanged on New Years Day, which reflect the mood and the spirit of the celebration.

This is the perfect time for family members and friends to be with each other. They dine together, have fun and form great memories. I have seen that the chef in the family will prepare heart or log shaped desserts, usually made from ice cream (don't worry these are also widely available in supermarkets across France).

People are highly excited and welcome the fresh year in whole-heartedly in France so all you need to do is join in, not that different to the UK or the US afterall, just jump in and have a good time seems to be the order of the day.

Bonne Année ! from Sharon, David, Simon, Alex and all the team at Cle France.

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.